


The Takeover

by m95838



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU: Diverging from a slightly altered ep 3x01, Alex Danvers (mentioned) - Freeform, Augustus Freeman (DCU), Bruce Wayne (mentioned) - Freeform, Eve Tecshmacher, Incorporates additional DCU characters from various eras, Jack Knight (DCU), Maggie Sawyer (mentioned) - Freeform, Michael Holt (DCU) - Freeform, Ted Knight (DCU), Ted Kord (DCU)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:12:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m95838/pseuds/m95838
Summary: This is based on Supergirl episode 3x01 and diverges primarily in the story regarding the purchase of CatCo.  I got an idea of how CatCo could be purchased that left the characters involved in that plot on firmer ground.   Also I think this idea is more consistent with what CatCo was originally intended to be.I also incorporated a few other DCU characters to flesh things out a bit and have a little fun.Thanks for checking it out.





	The Takeover

**KARA**

 

Kara liked the cool breeze blowing against her face as she floated above National City. She reached out with her enhanced hearing, searching for people in need of her help tonight. But the city was quiet. So she decided to listen in on her sister for a moment. Alex was enjoying a quiet evening with her fiancee Maggie. They were watching a movie, a comedy from the sound of it. Kara smiled as she listened to their laughter and after lingering a few moments longer, shifted her attention elsewhere.

Not long after Kara began working with the DEO, Alex was captured while on a mission. Once she was alerted, Kara was able to locate her with the hearing ability. But she didn't like how long it took, so she practiced finding her with her ears. Now she could locate her sister if she was anywhere in the city or just outside of it. Next, she worked on picking up James' voice. When he was taken by Maxwell Lord's Supergirl doppelganger, she had become good enough to hear his shout for her through the walls of the building he was in, across the city, and while she was underground in the remote location the DEO base was located at the time. She was able to pinpoint James' exact location and take Alex to help rescue him.

Kara had memorized Lena voice without even trying. They had spent so much time together after she took control of Lex Corp that it just felt natural in her ears. Often, the memory of Lena’s voice lingered in Kara’s mind long after they went their separate ways. Lena's odd Irish accent that would creep through occasionally was so cute and distinctive that she almost felt invited to listen to her. Lena was commanding in a board meeting and reminded Kara of her father when she was discussing research.

So when Kara turned her hearing toward Lena tonight, she easily found her. She was working into the night in her office at L Corp, probably putting some attention toward some matter in relation to L Corp’s purchase of controlling interest in CatCo Worldwide Media. But Lena’s voice was stressed. “Damn you Olsen,” Kara heard her say to herself, “answer the phone.” Lena terminated the call attempt.

_What’s going on?_

Kara shifted her super-hearing toward James’ CatCo office, where he too was working into the night. One of the television monitors that lined the office wall behind James’s desk was turned up, but James’ attention was turned toward his own phone call. “Clark, how fast do you think these people can work out how to put together this bid? I think Maxwell Lord is trying to get into this also. Have you heard the nonsense he’s been spitting out? He’s been on every business program you can think of 'decrying the state of journalism in America’.”

Kara recognized Maxwell Lord’s voice coming from the monitor so she more closely attuned herself to it. “I’ve been asked to join Mr Edge’s bid for CatCo. I have my people looking into this & I think this could be a huge opportunity.”

Just as James' face reached the apex of frustration, Kara landed on the terrace attached to his office and walked inside. “James, Lena is trying to get a hold of you. Are you talking to my cousin?”

James took a moment to look around the office to make sure they were alone before answering, “Yeah, Kara. Clark is trying to help me out here and I wanted to have some idea of what I can do before dealing with Lena. Clark says hi.”

Kara perked up, “Hi Kal!” Then she regained her seriousness, “What do you mean ‘dealing with Lena’?”

“Call me when you get more info”, James said into his phone before terminating the call. “Kara, Cat left me in charge of CatCo. She spent a long time building this company. I need to at least try to keep control of it until Cat is done with her political appointment.”

Cat Grant had taken a sabbatical from CatCo and specifically placed James in charge, giving him the title of ‘Managing Executive’. At the time, it was believed that Cat would return in six months at the most. She then unexpectedly accepted an appointment as White House Press Secretary. Cat had taken to the role very well, even though it was well known that she had several policy disagreements with the current president. Since then getting an idea on when she would return had become murky, with a few rumors surfacing that she would not return to the company she built.

This was one of the factors that led to Morgan Edge’s bid to acquire CatCo. But soon after Edge announced his intentions, Lena Luthor began acquiring CatCo shares with obvious intentions to purchase the media conglomerate. With the vast Luthor fortune at her command, once information started to spread about Lena’s maneuvers, all other interested investment groups ran back to the safety of their boardrooms, except for Edge. Instead he foolishly stormed into Lena’s office with an angry attitude. Kara decided to intervene as Supergirl. She ended the conversation by dropping Edge off on a cargo ship at sea. Kara had heard later that Edge had arranged for a pickup by helicopter.

Everything seemed to be on track for Lena’s purchase of CatCo, but clearly James Olsen had a desire to stand in the way. Kara was mystified as to how he would do so. “James, how are _you_ going to buy CatCo? You don’t have the kind of money to make that happen…. _do_ you?”

“Clark says he might have some ways to help.”

 _Help from Kal? He's never even bought a house. “_ How is Clark supposed to help?”

“He says he knows of some people who might want to join the people I contacted. He thinks they'll let him know soon. It needs to be soon.”

“James, Lena has been trying to call you. Why don't you return her call?”

“I need to know what I can do about this before I go talking to anybody. People have been calling me for interviews and comments too.”

When they were this close, Kara enjoyed listening to James' heartbeat. Usually it was steady and smooth, a part of his good health and calm demeanor. But now it was elevated. _Is he scared?_ James' attitude toward Lena had greatly improved over the past few months, seemingly crossing a threshold when James began penning editorials praising Lena's help in rebuilding the city after the Daxamite attack. But now the idea of Lena Luthor controlling CatCo had shaken him.

“James what do you think Lena is going to do?”

“It doesn't matter until I can do something about it.”

Kara appreciated James's passion, but his voice sounded so grave that she thought it would be futile debating with him. _At least he's not calling her a criminal._ Kara walked toward the terrace. “You need to talk to Lena.” She lifted off, heading toward L Corp, but first she was curious as to how Kal was going to help finance a corporate takeover.

She reached for her cell phone and dialed his number.

“Kara! Hi.”

“Kal. What's going on with James? He says you're going to help buy CatCo?”

“I've been checking around with some folks I know who might be interested in doing something.”

“Who?”

“Well Ted Kord said he was interested, Augustus Freeman...”

Kord ran a manufacturing company but she didn't know who the heck Augustus Freeman was.

“...and Bruce Wayne... so far”

“Bruce Wayne? That pig?” While it was true that Bruce Wayne was rich, the only thing Kara had ever heard that he was interested in acquiring was the nearest model in the tiniest bikini. _I don't know of any way Kal even knows him, other than through interviewing him._

“He's... complicated. I'm hoping to hear from some others soon.”

Wayne had plenty of money, but she was unclear on the others. “Will you keep me posted with what's going on?”

“Sure Kara,” Kal said in a voice too cheery for her to like right now, “Take care.”

As Kara approached L Corp she saw Lena at her desk engaged in deep thought, but when she landed on the terrace to her office Lena turned toward her and stood, closing the distance between them with a smile on her face. Kara couldn't help but return the smile.

“Supergirl, can you help me contact James Olsen. There's a rumor going around that he's in opposition to the CatCo purchase”

“He is. He's trying to put together a group to buy CatCo.”

Lena's eyes widened. “How?” Then her eyes narrowed. “Does he think I'm going to fire him or something?”

“No. He...” Kara hesitated, not sure how to explain James' thinking.

Lena crossed her arms, slowly stepped backward and sat on the corner of her desk. “It's the Luthor thing isn't it? I thought he was past that.”

“You two need to talk.”

Lena shrugged.

“Come on.” Kara took her by the hand and led her onto the terrace. “He's in his office now. Let's go.” Kara scooped Lena up and cradled her in her arms. Stress disappeared from Lena's face as they rose into the air and flew under Supergirl's power toward the CatCo building.

Kara landed them on the CatCo terrace and James rose from behind his desk as they entered the office. He nodded at Supergirl and greeted Lena, “Ms. Luthor.”

“Mr. Olsen, you _could_ have returned my phone calls .”

“Ms. Luthor, I _do_ have a company to run, and to do so I have to make sure its interests are protected. That's what I've been doing.”

Kara's eyes widened. _This doesn't look like its going to go well._ Lena studied James, her eyes shifting between his face and his hands which were placed on his desk, holding him up as he leaned forward. James' breathing slightly quickened.

“Do you think I'm a threat to CatCo's interests?”

“I don't know. I don't know what your intentions are. And I'm not sure I should find out.”

“Why do you...what, do you have some kind of shareholder defense option?”

James' mouth tightened slightly.

“You do! Mr. Olsen, that's just going to make this chaotic.”

Kara walked toward them and interjected, “Wait, what's that? What's going on?”

Lena kept her gaze on James. “To protect from hostile takeovers, if they have this power, a board”, Lena gestured at James, “or in this case an executive, can issue additional shares, flooding the market and lowering the value of the shares purchased by the person trying to take over.”

Kara looked at James. “You can do that?”

“Yes. That was one of Cat's powers she vested with me when she left.”

“That will just open the door for Edge & Lord to take control.”

“Or the group that I'm putting together.”

“I've already started purchasing shares.”

James nodded, “Oh I know that.”

A series of expressions crossed Lena's face that Kara hadn't seen before and she walked over and put her fist on his desk. “It won't work. I am fully committed to acquiring CatCo and I won't be outbid under any circumstance.”

With that James breathing quickened further, his knuckles twitched on the desk, and his heart started pounding at rate that Kara could have heard without super-hearing. “I guess we'll find out how this plays out tomorrow. Until then, I'm still in control of this company.”

There was a pause, and then Lena raised her head slightly and turned toward Kara. “Could you take me back to my office Supergirl?”

When they arrived, Lena sat at her desk and shook her head. “This is a disaster.”

“Why? You can still buy the company right?”

“Probably, but it's less certain and I'll have to spend more. And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I win a bidding war, it will be so costly and antagonistic there's no way James Olsen will stay with CatCo. Then I'll need to find a new Lead Executive.”

“You weren't going to run it yourself?”

“I run a multinational conglomerate that does work in chemicals, bio-engineering, pharmaceuticals, & robotics. And those departments conduct research that I personally guide. I never intended on _running_ CatCo. I wanted to keep it away from Morgan Edge.”

Kara listened as Lena continued, “Who am I going to find to run it? And how long will it take? Cat Grant's management style was meddlesome but James Olsen has copied it fairly well. Who else can learn on the fly?”

“Is it better for you not to move forward?”

“No. If Edge wins, who knows what he'll do with a media and journalism company with global reach. If Olsen wins, he'll _hate_ me.”

“Lena, James isn't like that. This will blow over.”

“It probably would have, but now it's not. Did you see the look on his face? If James' bid wins now it'll be worse for me than if Edge won. He'll have CatCo investigating every L Corp operation worldwide.”

“But you aren't doing anything illegal.”

“But what does _he_ think? I've screwed this up.”

“How? All you did was try to buy a company.”

“I thought I could get the purchase out of the way and then go into CatCo and just work it all out. But he found out I was buying shares and panicked. Any good will I built up probably went right out the window and he must have spent the entire day calling around for investors. Or maybe he got his _pal_ Superman to help out. Some of the people I've heard are jumping into this have never worked together on anything, but they've all had run ins with L Corp when Lex was running it. They must be itching for some payback.”

“Could you fight back?” The concept of 'corporate warfare' felt odd to Kara but that seemed to be the proper analogy.

“Then its 'L Corp is going after Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen' and I'll have superheroes getting involved.”

Kara still found it difficult to think that the James she knew would get so cutthroat, but he was definitely more going on with him than she had ever seen, and what Lena was saying made a certain amount of sense.

“I should have called him and talked to him about the situation before I did anything. But I blew it. He was hand picked to run a global company and I treated him like an afterthought. He deserved better. Then I was so shocked when I realized what he was doing that I lost my temper. That was it, now there's no way to win; there are only different degrees of losing.”

Lena took a deep breath, sat up straight, and fired up her desktop computer. “I need to free up more cash for this. And see if I can figure out who might be running James' investment group.”

“Can you get that person to slow this down?”

Lena chuckled. “No. But if a rumor I heard about Bruce Wayne actually being involved in this is true, I need to know if Lucius Fox is going to have a role. That's who I would choose to run it.”

“What if he is?”

“Then it's an entirely new magnitude of crap-storm for me. He is _very_ skilled.”

Kara felt her shoulders droop a bit. _Maybe I can talk to James and get him to not do this_. She then took off from the terrace into the air.

 

**James**

 

James thought a short workout consisting of a run on his treadmill and some drills on his heavy bag would tire him down enough to get some sleep, but after showering he was still wound up. So just after midnight, he took a seat on his couch with a huge thermos of water and tried to choose a movie on Netflix to hopefully pass out while watching.

Before leaving the office, James had gotten a call from Clark. Including the folks James had contacted, there were thirty investors who were interested in forming a group to purchase controlling interest in CatCo. They included people he didn't know of, such as Ted Knight, but others he did, such as Bruce Wayne. He didn't have any idea why Wayne was interested, but he remembered Clark mentioning a few times over the years that Bruce Wayne did not like the Luthors one bit.

Part of Wayne getting involved was an insistence on Lucius Fox finishing the organizing of the group. That was probably a good idea as Mr. Fox had quintupled the Wayne family fortune shortly after being hired.

James had a brief conversation with Lucius before leaving the office. It was as pleasant as it could be under the circumstances, with Lucius issuing several warnings to James to not expect this to be an easy undertaking. Once Lena purchased enough shares to trigger James' ability to use the defense option, he could immediately put it into effect, but the Luthor fortune was vast enough that she could easily last through several rounds of bidding for CatCo. Edge & Lord would clearly bid as much as they could, and with a company that generated the revenue of CatCo there was bound to be another group that would get involved.

James assured him he was not expecting anything to be easy. One thing he knew that rich people did not like was becoming less rich. When James invoked the protection option Lena would lose a ridiculous amount of money in stock value. James still shuddered when he thought about the look on Lena's face when she made that deduction; he thought she might grow claws, rip his entrails out, and slam them on the desk in front of them. There was no way she was going to let the matter go. But some things were worth more than money; what CatCo represented were among them.

It hadn’t quite happened for Kara at CatCo yet, but James remembered how the Daily Planet eventually became a second family for Clark over the years. He had met so many of his closest friends there; Perry, Ron, Steve, Cat, & Dirk prominent among them. For a while a friend of his from Smallville, Lana Lang, had worked there. And of course that is where he met the love of his life, Lois Lane.

Kara could potentially have the best of two worlds. She had a nice environment over at the DEO with her sister Alex, J’onn, & Winn. Now, as she continued to get settled in as a CatCo reporter, she would likely get the same benefits as Clark did from the Daily Planet. But James had to keep that environment protected and preserved first.

_Clark gave me the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby to give to Kara. I gave it to her on the roof of the CatCo building. The look on her face. Her voice. Her eyes. She still wears that cape._

_So that's it, I'm doing this._ James couldn't let someone take control of Cat's company. Morgan Edge and Maxwell Lord surely had something nefarious in mind, but Lena Luthor had gotten so angry in their brief meeting that she might be capable of doing anything to CatCo if she won.

CatCo had observed and reported on Lena's philanthropic streak. She had helped rebuild the city after the Daxamite attack. She purchased a hospital in a lower income area, quadrupled the size of the emergency room, and operated it at a loss. She even invested in a community bank that lent money to lower income entrepreneurs.

But it said a lot that Lena didn't think he should or would try to defend CatCo from outside entities trying to get control of it. _Maybe this was always the long run plan, get control of CatCo._

His phone rang. He recognized it was Kara from the distinct ring-tone he placed on her number. This couldn't be a pleasant call, but his cheeks still lifted slightly at the thought of hearing from her.

“Hey you,” she said.

“Hey.”

“I noticed you weren't sleeping.”

James looked out of the windows but couldn't catch sight of Kara floating anywhere. “No. Not yet.”

“Would you like some company?”

“Yes I would.”

At that moment there was a knock on the door. James rose from his couch and let Kara in. “Have I told you how much I like your place?”

“All the time.” James had a three bedroom condo. It had hardwood floors, a dining room, office, kitchen, laundry, and living room; The other two bedrooms were converted into a gym and a darkroom. Kara always took a moment to look at the photographs on his walls when she came to his place. James wasn't sure, but he thought she could, like him, appreciate the differences in photos taken on film rather than digitally.

Kara went to the kitchen. James trailed not far behind. She lowered her glasses and scanned his refrigerator and cabinets. “Have I told you how much I hate your food?”

“All the time. But,” James reached into his refrigerator and pulled out a lead container with a treat inside he was saving for later, “maybe you'll finish this off for me.”

When he opened the top Kara snatched the container out of his hand. Inside was a chocolate covered donut, from the place Kara thought had the best chocolate. He could only allow himself to eat one after his morning workout and was saving the other for next week but it was worth it to watch Kara scarf it down in a frenzy. James watched her close her eyes in appreciation of the flavor. When she opened them he was holding a bottle of water for her.

She was wearing blue jeans, sneakers, a long sleeved plaid shirt, and a white cardigan. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun and she had the glasses on that he hated. They dulled and distorted the blue of her eyes and made her nose look abnormal. Her efforts at disguise made her even more beautiful.

Kara looked at him and took a deep breath. He knew it was time to hear what she had to say. “Do you want to sit down?”

“Sure,” she answered.

They moved to the couch and he picked a spot that would give her plenty of room, but she sat closer to him than he expected. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees to give her his full attention.

“James, what's going to happen tomorrow?”

“Lena will come into CatCo tomorrow and inform the board that she has obtained enough shares to assume controlling interest in the company. Then I'll invoke the protection option, which will dilute the value of the shares, and announce my group and their plans to obtain controlling interest. Then..”

“No James. I mean, what's going to happen tomorrow?”

“I'm protecting CatCo from corporate raiders.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Edge and Lena both intend on buying CatCo. Edge stated it publicly. Lena just started buying shares.”

“Lena is not hostile.”

“And what would Lena do, if somebody mysteriously started buying blocks of shares of some company she was controlling?”

Kara didn’t have a quick answer for that. _They would be annihilated, probably humiliated._

“James, Lena has made some mistakes. She’s said that. I’ve made mistakes. You’ve made mistakes. Everyone has. But she doesn’t want to hurt CatCo or attack you or do something to National City.”

James stood up and wandered toward his window. His apartment had a large amount of space, but not the greatest view of the city. It was slightly obscured by taller buildings to his right. But to his left he could see out to the docks. _There’s no way to tell what her full plans are._ “How can anyone tell what she intends to do? She kept this under wraps.”

Kara came up behind him and gently placed her hand on his wrist. “James just… come sit down and relax.” They both went back to the couch and sat. “How did you even find out Lena was trying to buy CatCo so soon? She had to have only decided a few hours before you knew.”

“One of the members of the board told me. But she must have been planning this for a while.”

Kara smiled, “I really don’t think so. When she told me about it she seemed surprised at what she was doing.”

If it was anybody other than Kara telling him this he would have dismissed it out of hand. “Kara, people don’t just decide to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on large corporations on a whim.”

Kara’s lips tightened and her eyes brightened. _Is she actually holding back a laugh?_

“She commissioned a study before buying that hospital that took two weeks to compile. It was detailed. I read it.”

“This isn’t a scheme. It’s like you’ve been sitting around waiting for Lena to do something suspicious looking.”

“It’s very suspicious.”

“Remember when you broke into the prison and decided to fist fight Metallo because you thought Lena was breaking herself out. It took Alex and I together, with her in that exo-suit, to fight him. You were overreacting.”

James remembered being knocked unconscious, the painful bruises left behind, and that, in the end, he was thankful that Metallo was powered by flawed Kryptonite.

“Now, Lena is trying to keep Morgan Edge and Maxwell Lord from buying CatCo. You’re going to make her eat 750 million dollars for the privilege. You are overreacting.”

“Was today the first time you've ever spoken to Lena?” Kara asked.

 _Was it?_ He remembered sitting near Lena at the meeting in Morgan Edge's offices. Morgan strutted around basking in his self importance and accused CatCo of writing biased editorials. Lena pointed out that a development that Edge proposed would level an area and kick people out of their homes to build 'high rises' only the wealthy could afford. But he didn't get a chance to speak with her directly. The next time he saw her they were facing off across his desk.

“James I know some of the things Lex Luthor did to earn everyone's hate. But it doesn't make sense for everyone to be suspicious of his sister. I just don't understand how anyone who has spent any significant amount of time with her could think anything negative about her or be as afraid of her as you and that group of people you've put together are. Lena is not Lex.”

When James first heard about Edge's intention to buy CatCo, he was upset, blaming himself for somehow antagonizing him. But he also thought Edge wasn't much of a threat and he knew the board of directors thought Edge was like a rodeo clown without makeup. But when he heard that Lena was amassing shares, some wave came over him. The next thing he thought about were the powers Cat had invested in him as Trustee of her CatCo interests and started calling around for investors. He had seen Lena, but he felt Lex's ominous presence. He thought he had been open minded when directing reporting on Lena's dealings, but he did also compare and contrast Lena's presence against Lex's in his own mind. _Am I doing that now?_ It had been ingrained into him that once a Luthor put their plans into motion almost any act was justifiable in stopping it, even if it was unclear what his goal was.

Kara shifted her head slightly and James refocused his attention on her eyes. That Kara had no dealings with Lex was one of the many blessings her presence brought into everyone's lives. She wasn't tainted by a betrayal of the magnitude that Lex had visited on Clark. James had never decided what bothered him more; that Clark had held out hope for their friendship for long or the look on his face when he finally gave up on it. _Could that happen to Kara?_

“James, both you and Lena are my friends and I love you guys because you try to do the right thing. Right now, you have the power to make the right thing happen. Please just understand that I do believe you, I do trust you. But. You have been wrong about Lena. She only wants to protect CatCo from Morgan Edge. That's all.” Kara shrugged, “That's all I can really say.” Then she stood and James walked her to the door.

He reached for the doorknob and Kara turned and gave him a hug. “You're so afraid and I don't understand why.” James tried not to, but couldn't help but to lean into Kara's embrace ever so slightly. “Please. Give Lena a chance.”

And then she was gone.

Finally he turned in for the evening. Lying on his bed with eyes wide open he tried to catalog Lena's actions during her time in National City. Each of them was a positive but Lex's machinations still crept into his thoughts. He too was often helpful early in his friendship with Clark. He also remembered the feel of Kara's embrace at the door, the plea carried with it. _Give Lena a chance._

 

**Lena**

 

Lena typically slept soundly and had straightforward dreams. But, from time to time, Kara would enter them and they would become bizarre. Tonight was one of those nights.

Lena walked through a crowded city. Constantly she bumped into people whose faces she couldn't see because their backs were always turned to her. The crowd got thicker so she pushed harder. She had an important appointment she needed to get to.

Suddenly the crowd parted and she saw Kara waiting for her beside a table. Lena, fearing the crowd would reappear, tried to run to Kara's side. But instead she started skipping. When she reached Kara's side she was breathless.

“Hi Lena.” Kara said, her voice reminding Lena of bells. Kara's eye lashes fluttered romantically. She was wearing Lena's favorite cardigan, but the bottom 3 inches kept fluttering in the breeze like a cape. Kara smiled and tried to hold it down with limited effect.

“I got something,” Lena said, “for you.”

Kara clasped her hands together in expectation. “What is it?”

“A company.” Lena opened her palm and the entire CatCo building exploded out of it. It stood beside them at their height and, although it didn't, it seemed to have a face that held a confused expression. “You'll always be able to go there now.”

“Let’s play.” Kara said.

Two arms with hands stretched out of the sides of the building. Both Lena and Kara grabbed one of them. The fingers of their free hand immediately interlocked together. The three of them began to skip in a circle, hands joined.

Lena looked at the building for a moment, curious of where its legs came from. When she looked at Kara again, she was staring back at her intently. “Is it lunchtime?” Kara asked. Lena nodded and ran forward slamming into Kara. Their bodies seemed to merge together and Lena felt a pleasurable sensation across her skin.

She nearly jumped out of bed awake.

She filed that dream with the others she recently had.

 _I may as well get this started._ Lena rose, showered, and reviewed the documents she had prepared over breakfast. She had already accumulated enough shares to give James Olsen the power to trigger the protection option, so she decided to do what she could to free up more cash from operations so that once CatCo's share value dropped she could purchase as much of it as possible. Of course, there were bound to be several rounds of bidding once it began, with no indication as of yet how high the price would rise. In anticipation of this, Lena had identified several smaller units of L Corp that could be easily sold off when more funds were needed.

She took a moment to review the financial state of the Waste Management division. Once the sale of smaller units failed to generate enough funds to win the day, this would be the next step. Lena hated this division, there were too many negative connotations associated with it, but it was consistently profitable and she had resisted selling it off previously. That came in handy now. Perhaps by selling this earlier in this process it would serve as a demonstration toward the other bidders as to her commitment in winning. But after this Lena had decided that selling patents to products that hadn't been released yet would be the next step. This is when it would start to hurt; she would be digging into the future of the company. She identified two dozen, some of which she had developed herself.

Should she win, she was certain that CatCo would be in need of a new CEO. She had prepared an “offer that couldn't be refused” for Olsen to attempt to heal the wounds of a fight, but she was certain he would refuse it out of spite. This would cause strife within the company and possibly another stock drop. “Superman and Supergirl's Pal runs in panic as Luthor takes over CatCo” would be the headlines. She tried to identify some candidates to replace him, but gave up after a few minutes. Most of the candidates she thought would be good fits were, oddly enough, already connected somehow to CatCo, the Daily Planet, or personally knew James Olsen, Cat Grant, or Perry White. She was afraid those people would not like how this went down in the slightest and probably wouldn't take the job.

Then there was how CatCo's board of directors was structured. Turns out that CatCo not only had a classified board of 12 members, but half of them were on the record at some point in their careers as hating L Corp. She had no idea why. Three board members were elected each year; each had a four year term. Cat Grant brought them all in after having some trouble with an E-mail leak a couple of years ago. And they just had their election last week. Lena would be dealing with a hostile board for the foreseeable future, should she win. That would impact performance, acquisitions, and decision making.

But what bothered Lena the most about this situation was how Kara would feel about it. Even if Kara was supportive right now, this could be drawn out for years. Kara undoubtedly had many friends at CatCo. Being the sweetest person she had ever known, how could she not. She had even been a friend to Lena; her only friend. But would that change when the staff started turning over due to frustration or spotty working conditions caused by the corporate fight? Would Kara eventually see this as noting but a pissing match between greedy rich people? It wouldn't be endearing if she did.

Also, Kara respected Cat Grant and was very close to James Olsen. And it had to be taken into account that he was only acting the way he was acting because he saw himself as the “Keeper of the CatCo brand”. Lena believed that Cat Grant was never coming back, but James clearly felt differently. He had kept all of Cat's branding and her management systems. They suited him poorly, but he was successful in maintaining the company; which was respected.

Kara had dated James, and broke up with him. But there was absolutely no acrimony between them. He closely advised her in her career and from conversations she had with Kara it was clear she still had great affection for him. Lena's instincts told her the break up was a “noble, for James' own good” situation which was very odd. How would she react to his rising hurt and anger about this situation?

Lena contemplated all of this during the car ride to the CatCo building.

When she arrived, one of her attorneys and one of her accountants met her in the plaza in front of the building. She didn’t need them, but felt it was better to have them present when making tender offers for companies.

Lena rode the elevator up to the floor of the executive CatCo offices and was led to a boardroom by a polite secretary assigned to wait for her. It was glass enclosed and cozier than all of the boardrooms she had been in previously. The twelve members of the board fit snugly around a rectangular table. With Lena, the two members of her group, and the other two people in the room, it felt almost crowded.

She recognized the one of other two people as Lucius Fox, the financial manager who was had been placed in charge of the investment group James Olsen had hastily but thoroughly put together. He was a black gentleman, whose hairline was just beginning to recede. The other was a blonde woman who appeared to be in her early to mid twenties, and who stared back at her with a glint of excitement in her eye.

James Olsen, so far, was nowhere to be seen

The chairman began with a somewhat casual style. “Ok, let’s get started. We have one item on the agenda today and that is examination of the tender offer to be presented by Ms. Lena Luthor of L Corp. Thank you for your presence Ms. Luthor.”

A round of polite applause was given by the 12 members of the board.

Then one of the other board members spoke. “Mr. Chairman, as we discussed, I move that the meeting be postponed until further considerations can be reviewed.”

A second board member immediately spoke up. “I second the motion.”

The chairman spoke again, “all in favor?” The hands of the board members shot up immediately and unanimously. “So moved. Meeting postponed.” With that the board-members began to file out of the room, with a few pausing to shake her hand.

_Wait, what just happened?_

Mr Fox walked over to her and extended his hand. “Ms. Luthor, I'm Lucius Fox.” When Lena shook his hand, Mr Fox said, “A pleasure to meet you. This is Mr. Olsen's personal assistant, Miss Eve Teschmacher.” They too exchanged handshakes. Miss Teschmacher's excitement only seemed to intensify.

“Mr. Olsen would like to speak to you,” Mr Fox said.

“Of course.”

“Miss Teschmacher, if you would please.”

She led them through the hallways of CatCo until they reached the corridor leading to the work-space that included James Olsen's office. However, the normal grouping of workstations had been cleared away. In their place were many comfortable chairs positioned about, in which were seated all of the members of the investment group that James Olsen had put together.

There were a few she didn't recognize. One of those who she did was Ted Kord, of K.O.R.D. Industries. Among that company's more notable productions was non-lethal law enforcement tech, electronics, efficiency improvements for Harrier jets, and video games. Ted Knight was mysteriously healthy for someone who was supposed to be over 100 years old. He worked out of Opal City and had made his millions in energy and radiation research. He was a renowned expert, but had sold his research to unknown parties. _Probably Wayne. He liked to buy things and sit on them._ Mr. Knight was accompanied by the only person among them not dressed in expensive business attire. There was a familial resemblance between them; Lena later learned he was a grandson named Jack. Perhaps the rebellious type, as he looked like he was only here waiting on a pizza. 

Wayne also had extensive dealings with the next person she recognized, Michael Holt. He ran a technology company called Cyberwear, but being rich was the least of his accomplishments. The man allegedly was reading theoretical physics before he could walk, had 14 PhD's, and a Gold Medal in the Olympic Decathlon. He was rarely seen in public since his wife and unborn child died in an accident. Augustus Freeman was a very high priced attorney, but did plenty of pro-Bono work, particularly in civil rights cases. The others were various forms of rich people, most of who happened to have been wronged in the past in some way by Lex. This included two other billionaires who seemed to have joined this group overnight. Of course, Lucius Fox's presence signaled Bruce Wayne's involvement.

The group stood when Lena entered their presence, offering handshakes and smiles but their eyes held various degrees of suspicion. Conveniently, there was a path among them that led directly to the door of James Olsen's office. Through the glass door and windows, she could see Mr. Olsen waiting for her at the desk over which they had eyed each other with enmity a night ago. Mr Fox walked her to the door.

“What's the game here Mr. Fox?” she said, trying to keep her question confined to Mr. Fox's ears only.

“What I can say is that when the group met with Mr. Olsen this morning he had a change of heart as to how to proceed.”

Lena stared at him blankly

“If it helps, my primary employer is urging me to somehow make Mr. Olsen move forward. It gives me extra work if he does, but I'm hoping that won’t become an issue.” He held the door open for her and she stepped inside.

James Olsen spoke as soon as the door was closed. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me Ms. Luthor.” There was a high backed chair slightly to the left of Mr. Olsen's desk. Its back was toward the balcony and it's placement allowed him to see into the work space outside the office. “Would you like to sit down? Would you like a drink?”

It appeared that Mr. Olsen might try to make 'small talk' for a while to try to lighten the mood. Lena took it as a good sign. As a photographer, Lena regarded Mr. Olsen as perhaps among the most talented ever. As an executive, he was also very talented. Not everyone could have come into this situation and managed a company almost as well as Cat Grant using her own idiosyncratic style. But that and what had just transpired also showed his inexperience. The short board of director's meeting, the walk among the “opposing investment group”, and even the placement of the chair were intended to show that he was operating from a position of strength. That wasn't necessary. Lena had already calculated how destructive a fight between them could be.

But it was to be expected. “James was blindsided” Kara had told her. Then Lena had gone out and blindsided him again. Normally she would have spoken to an executive at a company before trying to acquire it at least once, but the actions of the sexist Morgan Edge had angered her. Then, after failing to get Edge to let this go, the memory of Kara's eyes looking at her and asking her to do something made her just decide to “buy it.” That she decided more than anything else put them here.

But she needed to get to the meat of the conversation, so she could figure out what she needed to do to get this behind them. So she stood beside the chair and placed her left arm on it. Her body blocked his view. “I think I'll stand for a moment.” _Please be just enough to get things going here._

“Are you planning on folding CatCo into L Corp?”

 _Good. Direct. He didn't ask about his job or go on some rant about not trusting me. His first priority is the company. This I can answer upfront._ “No. Absolutely not.” Then she sat. “I never ever intended on absorbing or breaking up CatCo in any way. I only wanted to keep Morgan Edge from buying it.”

“Then why the secrecy?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide any of my actions. I was only trying to get ahead of Edge. But not letting you know about my intentions was a mistake and I apologize for that.”

James’ hands lifted from the desk, palms facing Lena. “Because of the protection option.”

 _Here comes the hard part. Will he believe me?_ “No. Because you are the chief executive of this company and my plan was to continue that. I don’t do acquisitions by holding a hammer over the chief executive’s head. Well…unless he sucks. And you don’t. You’re good. That we are sitting here right now proves that.”

“Thank you.”

There was a long moment of silence while James looked at her. She sensed that he wanted to say something but didn't quite know how to say it. So she waited.

“I'm sorry too,” He said. Haltingly, he began, “When I found out about what you were doing, I jumped to the most negative conclusions. But it's not right for me or anybody else to judge you by what your brother has done.”

His right hand tapped an issue of CatCo magazine that was lying on his desk. His fingertips grazed the cover prompt for an article that Kara had written.

“I wanted to protect what is here, if that makes sense.”

“I appreciate that Mr. Olsen. It makes perfect sense. I understand.”

He rose from the desk and went to the bar positioned against the wall on her right. Again he asked if she would like a drink and she requested coffee, black. He returned to the desk and Lena found it refreshing that his idea of a midday, executive drink was a bottle of water.

"Lord backed out, but Edge still controls a sizable portion of CatCo stock," Lena said.

"Yes."

"But not as much as either of us control."

"Yes. He's probably holding off from buying more to see if I use the protection option. His money would go farther then."

"Right now the best deterrent is the amount of shares we collectively control, along with the possibility of your use of the option."

James lifted a finger toward her. "You're suggesting we continue the current arrangement. What is the current arrangement?"

"I have no desire or need to interfere in day to day operations of CatCo, but I need growth in CatCo to protect my investment."

He stood and walked toward the terrace with his head slightly lifted. "That's reasonable, but this is a journalism company. We don't have new products coming to 'bump up' the share price."

“Cat Grant built the company through skillful acquisitions and timely start ups. You can do the same.”

“I'm not sure that's my mandate here.”

 _Inexperience again. He's thinking like a manager, not a leader._ “At the end of the day, if the company is stronger, more valuable, and performs its mission better, wouldn't Cat be happy about that? If she returns.”

“Yes. But you sound like you don't think she's coming back.”

“I don't. But we can talk about that another time.”

“I'm not going to suppress any information that might be damaging to L Corp. In fact I may have to push it more to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest.”

“Of course.”

“There's not going to be any downsizing of anything.”

Lena smiled. “You're going to be hiring some important people really soon.”

James shook his head. “We're not putting a bunch of L Corp people on the payroll here.”

“These are people that _you_ are going to hire.”

“Why?”

“Because your organizational structure stinks and you need department heads.”

“It's structured just like Cat had structured it.”

“And things went well at first right, but in the past few months,” Lena raised an eyebrow at him, “your days are getting a little longer, a few more problems are creeping up, a manager here and there is getting more resistant to you?”

James stared straight ahead, but he didn't dispute the assessment.

“Cat was intimidating and thrived in a more chaotic environment. You aren't her. But you can turn that into an advantage. What you've done is respected. But sooner, rather than later, you need to shift to a style that better suits your personality. You need a more professional company structure and stronger department heads so you can turn your attention toward larger matters.”

Lena recognized the look on his face; the look people made when they expected to disagree with her, but couldn't.

“I want regular meetings with you,” James said.

“Ok, What did you have in mind?”

“Every two weeks. Wednesdays.”

It sounded to Lena like he wanted to keep tabs on her, but she quickly said, “I'll make the time.”

“If I think we need to discuss some issue, how do I make that happen? Who is your secretary?'

Lena scrawled a number on a business card and laid it on James' desk. “If you need to talk, that number will reach me directly. Call me anytime you need to. Kara is the only other person that has it.” This was the first time she felt James was truly surprised, but Lena wasn't going to take any chances on communications with this particular business partner, Kara's friend, being misinterpreted through a third party.

“What if we have a disagreement?”

“We take all the time needed to resolve it. But then we stand by each other and defend the decision we make to anyone outside of this room.”

James walked over to the chair Lena was sitting in. “Is this really going to work?”

Lena reached into her bag and pulled out a report she had prepared. She stood and handed it to him. “Take a look at this. It's some ideas I typed up for CatCo.”

“This is a 75 page document. When did you have time to do this?”

“After I talked to Kara when she first stopped by my office yesterday, I started getting ideas.”

James sat in the chair that Lena was previously occupying and began looking through the document.

“Here's something to watch for,” Lena said, “there's going to be consolidation between some of the larger entertainment companies, but there's no way anti-trust regulators will allow regional sports networks to be included in these. If CatCo could acquire some of them in markets that the company has a local station in, it could leverage sports journalism into additional forms of business journalism. And sports reporting is entertaining and profitable.”

As their talk continued, they didn't notice when Mr. Fox led the investment group out of the office. They only looked up when Kara and Eve begin moving the desks and furniture outside of the office back to their original configuration. Lena took notice of Kara studying them through the glass, as though she could hear what they were saying. But she kept talking to James as he asked questions and closely studied his face when she responded. The more they talked, the more his mood seemed to improve. They continued into the evening, making plans to Lena's and, from what she could tell, to James' satisfaction on how to manage their partnership.

 


End file.
